These pictures tell the story of our time in Empire Studios, Mumbai. People say that recording an album represents a watershed in the life of a band, as you come to terms with both your songs and your ability (or lack of it) in playing them. These are notes from that process.

The chai is one of the best things about Empire. Brewed in plenty by the canteen here, we have endless glasses of this invigorating fluid. Pic: Santosh Swami

Montry's drum setup is expansive and wowsome. If the studio sound is anything to go by they're going to sound big and full. Various indie scene drummers have helped - JJ of Something Relevant, The Demonstealer and Sid Coutto of ToT/Zero come to mind. Thanks guys! Pic: Nitin Joshi

What we had for lunch is irrelevant. What is remarkable is that it got Sanjeev's fountain going. Young children can also learn about the concept of night and day by this picture. Pic: Santosh Swami

An extreme-ish close up of Jishnu's Musicman bass during a warm-up session prior to the day's recording. Bass and drums were tracked together, live! Pic: Nitin Joshi

Just to give you an idea of the size of Empire's recording hall. It's MASSIVE. The height of the room gives some solid depth to the live drum sound. Pic: Nitin Joshi